He stood atop the barren waste's great spire, with the ever-winter winds whipping at his jacket...while Mount Silver certainly wasn't the tallest mountain in the world, a title which belonged to Mount Coronet in the Sinnoh region, it was certainly the largest and the most dangerous. Ferocious wild Pokemon roamed freely, doing as they pleased, only adding to the natural maze that was the mountain's innards. It was truly a test fit for him, he mused, but now what? He had conquered it with relative ease, and his Pokemon were in fine condition. He had been tested, and the test had been found wanting.
Of course, that wasn't really fair. He'd breezed past every challenge in his life, made certain that his mettle was up to par; that over-preparation was a fairly large part of his success, along with a little bit of luck. It was what had allowed him to rise above the odds and beat his best friend for the final time in their great battle of wills.
It was what left him here, at the peak of this god-forsaken mountain, where there was nothing but snow and hail and rock. This would be his final test, to sit here and wait and think on life; rather than doing something, as he always had, the challenge would be to specifically not do anything. Silence, stillness, and a great regard for nature's power, would follow him on his path. There was no shelter here, and he needed none...he idly noted that the peak was mostly flat, which suited him fine. One ledge rose slightly higher than the rest of the area, however, and so he went there. It would be here, he decided, that he would sit and wait for his challenger's approach.
He had elected to not stay on the surface of the world, with those unfit to face him, though he still carried the title of the strongest; for a challenger to reach him, they would need to prove their worth. To rise as he did, to the summit of this frozen hell they called a mountain. Only those few who succeeded, whether by luck or by skill, would be able to claim the right of challenge. Only those who had ascended to a higher tier would be able to hold their own against the trainer who waited for them...but they would fall, he knew. They always had, and always would, fail against him. It was the way that the world worked, he told himself as he meditated on his first cold night at the spire's peak; none could stand against him. As the years went by, challengers came less and less frequently.
He would later learn, as Blue and Leaf occasionally visited him, that the Pokemon League had instituted a new law: to enter into Mount Silver, you needed approval from either the Kanto or the Johto Elite Four. After one visit, he had learned that they combined to form a joint Elite Four with Lance as Champion; Agatha had died, and Lorelei had gone back to her home in the Sevii Islands. They were replaced by Koga, whose spot as Fuschia City Gym Leader was taken by his daughter Janine, and a psychic whose name he couldn't remember...he had half a mind to leave his deserted paradise, with that knowledge, and remind the world that he still existed. But he had made a promise to himself, long ago, that he would return to the world below under one condition: that he lost a battle.
It hadn't happened in all the time that he'd lived, and he doubted that it would happen at all. That was why he'd made the vow...and then, one day, he faced a challenger for the first time in months. The boy had red hair and steel-colored eyes, and reminded him of Blue in his body language: arrogant, proud, and none the weaker because of it. It was through that fight that he remembered why he lived on the mountain.
The boy's name had been Silver, and he was Giovanni's son; he could have figured it out without having to be told. The father's empire had collapsed thanks to another boy, named Gold, who was on his way to the Pokemon League. Their female friends, and he noted Silver's tenative use of the word to be so much like his own, were on their way to Mount Silver's peak as Silver spoke...and the victor couldn't wait to meet them. Silver left soon after his loss, which he took graciously, leaving him alone at the summit once more. It would be another week before he was called to battle again.
The girls were named Crystal and Lyra; the latter, he discovered, was only able to make it through the maze with the help of the elder girl's help. He silently agreed to battle them both, however, and found Lyra to be no true challenge...her entire team, even at their peak, had been no match for Venusaur on its own. Crystal, however, had been an even more worthy challenger than Silver; her Pokemon had fought with the fury of gods and demons. She had still fallen to her knees, however, when faced with his Charizard.
"Gold is coming." they said. "If anyone can beat you, it's him. He's beaten the Elite Four by now, and should be on his way here."
It was another six months before he faced his next opponent. The boy wore a cap with an Ultra Ball-print, with a heavy red jacket and heavier cargo pants. It was his eyes that gave him away as the now-infamous Gold, who he'd "learned about" from Blue and Leaf; in Gold, he saw a younger and more idealistic version of himself. The boy's eyes were still full of wonder, still able to be surprised...it almost, almost, made him nostalgic for his childhood. Once more, he had unholstered a Poke Ball from his pack.
The boy was nervous, he saw. He'd climbed all the way to the top of this god-forsaken hell of frost and stone, and was still unsure of himself; with a slight shaking in his hands, Gold repeated his action.
The battle was long and drawn out, which surprised him. Given Gold's nervousness, he would have expected an easy win. His Kindgra took out Lapras, though it was quickly avenged by Venusaur's relentless Vine Whip and Razor Leaf attacks. Houndoom proved an effective counter, given its immunity to poison and heavy Grass-type resistance, but an Earthquake was enough to put it down; Venusaur was finally taken out by Gold's Noctowl, which was then obliterated by a pair of Ice Punches from Snorlax. Snorlax couldn't stand to Hitmontop's various Fighting-type moves, however, and so he sent in Blastoise...whose Skull Bash attack was more than enough to send Gold's Hitmontop reeling, but who couldn't fight effectively against Ampharos.
It was at this point that he decided to be serious, sending Pikachu into battle; Gold had almost laughed at the tiny mouse-like Pokemon, though an Iron Tail and Volt Tackle combination had sobered him very quickly. Ampharos was much larger than Pikachu, of course, but Pikachu was far faster than its fellow Electric-type. It had trained beside him for years, and that training now paid off in spades...after a fairly difficult individual fight, Ampharos was knocked out and Pikachu was returned. They knew what was coming, and knew that this would be the deciding battle: Typlosion against Charizard. Pikachu was weakened, and was likely to fall prey to Typhlosion if it defeated Charizard, but Gold was also down to his last Pokemon.
With a roar, the two Fire-type starters were unleashed. Gold's Typhlosion was monstrous, standing on its hind legs, spitting flames like venom and hissing at its opponent; Charizard bellowed its unending challenge to the world, directed now at a single Pokemon which it found worthy. Its claws were razors, its teeth knives, and it held within it the flames of its master's rage at the world...this was a clash not of Pokemon, or Legendaries, but of true one-of-a-kind titans. The time for his words had passed long ago, and Gold came to that realization with this battle: words weren't needed with his greatest and truest of partners, which was a bond that he had yet to form with all of his Pokemon.
There were no commands given, for none were needed; this was a test of raw strength, not of cunning, and both Pokemon knew it. They smashed against one another, biting and clawing and kicking and flailing, in the hopes that the other's endurance would fail before their own. Blood flew, darkening the snow with its sanguine tint, and both trainers knew that they could no longer interfere...yet, at least. Charizard hooked its claws into Typhlosion's ribs, pulling it close before unleashing a Fire Blast at point-blank range. The wolverine responded with an Eruption right at its foe's chest and throat, though its fall was boosted by a Seismic Toss against the cold stone of the mountain's peak.
It was as Charizard flew upwards that Gold knew his fate was sealed, and he bowed his head as the dragon descended in a flaming haze of burning glory; He saw Typhlosion get hit, sent careening to the other side of the peak...but Gold didn't understand the sudden silence as his partner charged at Charizard. That was when the explosion happened, a holocaust of obliteration that was nothing but all-consuming fire. Rocks flew from the force of the attack's impact, one of them grazing Gold's cheek and drawing blood; there was no doubt in his mind that this was the ultimate Fire-type attack, Blast Burn.
Charizard struggled to get up, but slowly managed to stand on its feet. The same couldn't be said for Typhlosion, who layed unconscious in a large crater; Gold recalled his Pokemon, and felt as though the life had been taken out of him. Never before had Gold been so thoroughly bested, so utterly beaten and humiliated, in the course of a single battle...if this was what it felt like to lose, he decided, then he had seen and done enough to know that he never would.
Gold left in a hurry, and left little wonder in why. "You're a monster!" He'd said. "You could have killed them!"
He did not care. He was left alone, once again, atop his fortress' outlook upon the world; from his eternal perch, he could sit and observe the whole land of Kanto as the day went by. Years passed, and Leaf stopped visiting. She wrote letters, which Blue delivered, telling him of her exploits in Hoenn as a trainer...and something called a coordinator, which he didn't fully grasp the concept of. Slowly, as even more years went by, even Blue stopped coming for more than once or twice in a year. A boy and girl in Hoenn had stopped the destruction of the world, and a trio had done the same in Sinnoh a few years later. Blue had a son named Gary, who'd become rivals with a boy named Ash, and a daughter named Daisy. Ash, he was told, was a lot like him...except that he talked nearly non-stop, and the child's claims of becoming "the most strongest trainer ever" were likely nothing but fantasies brought on by his legendary ascent to the top of the Pokemon world. He never faced challengers any more, though Crystal and Silver occasionally came to visit him.
Many, many years later...so many that he had in fact forgotten why he had originally come here, or why he stayed, a white-haired old man rose to the summit. For the first time in twenty years, Blue had come.
"This will be the last time we see one another," Blue said, "unless you finally decide to come down."
He talked of days gone by in their youth, and of his life, and of the state of a world which had essentially left the two of them behind. He had retired from his job as a Gym Leader a long time ago; Ash had become the newest Champion of Kanto, and was journeying to the summit to face him. Gary had become a Pokemon Professor, taking over the old Pallet Town lab formerly run by the deceased Professor Oak...his mother had died, which was why Blue had delayed so long in taking the journey to the summit of Mount Silver. He had known she would die, and was not terribly upset at the news brought by his friend; she had not been there for the majority of his life, just as his father had left when he was no more than a baby too young to remember him. He had no true reason to mourn her, as she had done no more than her perceived duty as a mother to feed and clothe and educate him. Her passing was simply another milestone in his life.
For old time's sake, they held a battle; neither took it very seriously, but he was still able to outclass Blue in every way. Even decades after their last battle, and even more decades since his last bout with anyone, he retained the skills which had been honed by years of training. Above all, he found, Blue would always be the one whom he would consider his greatest and most powerful of challengers...and challenges. It was refreshing.
Blue left, of course, with one final note: Leaf would be guiding Ash to the summit, to see him for the first time since their childhood's end.
"Your legend has grown." Blue told him. "You're not just a superior trainer who waits here, at the top of Mount Silver. They have a new name for you now: the Shadow of the Mountain. They say you're as cold and unforgiving as the mountain itself, and most people doubt that you're still alive...assuming that they believe you ever existed at all."
With those words, Blue was gone; he would never see his friend again. It was in these days which he wrote a note, out of the ancient paper and pencil which had stayed in his backpack for his entire life, and he enclosed it in the journal which he had written in before coming to the top of the mountain. He had told himself that he would make his next entry when he came down from Mount Silver, when he lost...but he had never managed to do so. He had, however, made detailed accounts of several battles he'd had during his time.
The very next day, he saw a wizened old woman and a much younger man...and, in fact, he almost thought that he was looking into a mirror of the past. It was Leaf, he learned, and the Kanto Champion named Ash Ketchum.
Leaf talked to him at great length, much the same as Blue had; she spoke of days in the past, her travels throughout all the regions of the world, and all she had seen. He silently marveled at her descriptions of Hoenn's mountains and seas, of Sinnoh's Mount Coronet and its underground passages, of Isshu's great mysteries and sheer size...and, when she finished, she called him by the name she'd used long ago. It was her pet name for him in their childhood days, just as his nickname for her had always been Leaf. "Fire," she called him, "it's time to battle. Show the world that you still burn. And if anyone can finally beat you, so you can get down from this giant rock, it's Ash." She vanished, flying away. She would be waiting, at the foot of the mountain, for one or both of them.
He had been told that line before, of another Champion, who had been fairly impressive in their fight.
And so he rose, ancient bones creaking and popping as he moved through the snow to face his latest challenger...Ash, he was surprised to find, had his exact team matched and copied. Venusaur battled Venusaur, Snorlax with Snorlax, Lapras to Lapras. Blastoise countered Blastoise, and Charizard defeated Charizard. There was no victory to be found for either of them, and he was truly shocked for the first time in his life. Here was a worthy opponent, one who could stand toe to toe with him and push him to excel beyond his capabilities. This man, this Ash Ketchum, truly deserved his title; Champions of each region had come and gone, and he had fought many of them...Steven Stone, Cynthia, Alder, Wallace, Iris and even Lance had come to the summit at one time or another during his life. He had defeated them all, with ranging difficulty, but never truly felt moved by the battles in the same way as his matches with Blue or Leaf. (And, if he looked deep inside of himself, with Giovanni as well. The old man had come, near the end of his life, for one final showdown; the Boss of Team Rocket had lost once again.)
Thus did it come down to Pikachu against Pikachu, and Ash Ketchum's true test began; in the end, however, Ash lost. He had not come with an expectation of winning, and was humbled to know that he was not immune to losing.
That was when he handed the young man his decades-old leather-bound journal, which held the letter inside of it, and his bag. Wordlessly taking them, Ash nodded; their agreement was unspoken, for it didn't need to be...the Champion of Kanto left, leaving the Shadow of the Mountain truly alone with his thoughts. No more challengers would come seeking him, he knew, but that did not mean that he would abandon his pride or his oath. His days were numbered, he knew, as they always had been, but the chill and the stone would keep his memory alive for eternity.
When Ash reached Pallet Town, in the house which Leaf had grown up in, he opened the journal and found the letter which had been written to him. Gathering Leaf and Blue, he read aloud.
Challenger, I must congratulate you. Though you did not succeed in defeating me, you have the honor and distinction of being my last true opponent before my death. Even now, I can feel the final freeze of my life beginning to set inside of me...so I won't take much longer in writing this: I am the Pokemon Master. The journal in your hands details my life and its experiences, from the day I set out on my journey until the day I ascended to the peak of the mountain which became my home. No detail, no matter how small, is found wanting. I even took the time to write about my most challenging battles, which you may or may not find useful. My bag is simply that: a bag. It holds all the same items that it did when I climbed Mount Silver, save for my journal and this letter...and I do mean all of them. As you no doubt understand, this means that my Pokemon are inside of their Poke Balls as well. Please take them to the Pallet Town Laboratory, my sister Leaf, or to my friend Blue. I don't want them to remain trapped inside of their Poke Balls when I am gone. You are the inheritor of my will, and the walker of my path. I hereby proclaim you the next Pokemon Master...though, given that you lost to me, I still remain the best that ever was.
Ash laughed at the snide comment before he continued reading.
This does not mean that you must follow in my exact footsteps, but rather that you are the greatest challenge that I have ever faced...though, as I haven't actually battled you yet, that title may still belong to Blue Oak. In any case, Ash Ketchum, I am glad to have met you before I left the world. Sincerely,
The words stopped. There was no more writing on the page; even in death, the man's name was a mystery to all but Blue and Leaf.
He handed the letter over to the man's sister, who shared it with Blue. Her eyes began to fill with unshed tears, just as much as he wanted to do the same; never in her life had she been faced with the thought of being without her elder twin. Blue couldn't envision a life without his rival's existence still poking at him in the back of the head. The world would be far the poorer, in both their minds, when he was lost...both of them could feel it, within the next few minutes, as he began to pass on. Years of living with and around him, of constant visits, had given them all a strange bond; even now, as it pained them, they continued to hold on to it.
As the life began to leave his body, he remembered a brown-haired girl and boy who ran and played, smiling, beside him. He played games of tag, hide-and-seek, and even mock Pokemon battles with them. He and the boy beat up anyone who teased the girl, just as he and the girl fought children who disliked the boy, or the boy and girl scrapped with anyone who mocked him for his muteness...
The last thing that he felt was a warm hug from them, and the last thing he saw was the two of them standing beside their older selves. He smelled the scent of the dirt roads from his childhood, and tasted the sweet air of a time lost to memory...and, as if there was some Legendary at work to help him complete the senses, the last thing he heard was the two of them calling him by the name that had shaken the world to its core:
"Red."